Shock: The liquid in antigen tests is said to be toxic. The associated laboratory findings allegedly show the toxicity of the corona tests. Various websites, primarily from the so-called “alternative media spectrum”, but also various videos on YouTube (where else) refer to it. Terms such as “genocide” are used, but also frightening statements such as “immunotoxicological and genotoxic damage”.

We have already described whether the corona tests are toxic “weapons of mass destruction” in our fact check entitled “Covid-19 antigen tests contain toxic liquid?” Conclusion: The buffer solution was tested by other authorities in the European Economic Area and evaluated as harmless.

But this entire discussion about supposedly toxic corona tests is probably less about facts and more about sensitivities and one's own beliefs. At the end it is even unclear why the story of the poisoned corona tests is so successful in the first place and what motives lie behind it. We will discuss exactly these meaningful motifs and stories in the following text.

Meaningful stories

The term narrative is often used in connection with meaningful stories. Meaningful narratives are stories or traditional narratives that sound plausible. You've always heard them somewhere. They use familiar motifs, they convey content that we are already convinced of and that manifest our own position

There are various meaningful narratives. These constantly adapt to current reality, but sometimes contain narrative cores that are centuries old. To this extent, we have already examined the ritual murder legend from the Middle Ages, which is currently shown as the so-called adrenochrome legend (see here ). This legend has also shown itself to be dynamic again and again and has adapted to reality, but has always remained the same at its core.

This current adaptation makes the narrative core seem plausible. All enemy images are always included in this tradition, which always makes a story like this dangerous. Conspiracy theories in particular that led to pogroms in the Middle Ages should therefore always be treated with caution in their current adaptations. Just like the adrenochrome legend, since the original ritual murder legend was strongly anti-Jewish.

The well poisoning

In addition to the ritual murder legend, there is also the legend of the well poisoning. This legend was also a conspiracy theory in the Middle Ages that led to the persecution of Jews. Roughly retold: In the Middle Ages, Jews were blamed for the plague. This was done by claiming that Jews had poisoned the wells, causing the plague. The result, of course, was pogroms.

This story offers quite a few exciting motifs. On the one hand, we have typical mechanisms. One mechanism is that complex connections are reduced to a falsely simple point. Of course the plague had nothing to do with poisoned wells, but the explanation seemed simple and, above all, plausible. The second mechanism lies in the creation of an enemy image. Enemy images play an essential role within conspiracy theories, as anger, fears and worries can be projected onto enemy images and can also be channeled. According to the line of thought, the problem can be solved by abolishing or attacking the enemy images.

The legend of the well poisoning has also survived through the centuries and has been repeatedly adapted to reality or applied here and there. Even in the not-so-distant past, stories of well poisoning continued to crop up without being perceived as such. The problem, however, is that these stories seem plausible precisely because the meaningful story behind them and their narrative core have been conveyed again and again over the centuries.

And the core of the story is always the same: We humans can become infected with a serious illness or be exposed to another fatal event through everyday behavior via a liquid or contact with a substance. Other people are always to blame, usually stigmatized, smaller groups from a society who find it difficult to defend themselves against the accusation. Or the narrative core drifts into the area of ​​conspiracy theories and suspects (sometimes not further defined) elites behind the story who are pursuing a comprehensive plan.

It also becomes problematic when these groups are not precisely defined and there is room for speculation. Then again, classic images of the enemy are often used and are held responsible for a situation.

From HIV needles to corona tests

Let's take a look at modern adaptations at this point, let's first look at the history of the "HIV-infected needle". At first glance, the urban legend of HIV-infected needles seems quite harmless unless the warning content is considered further. It is a legend that appears again and again, adapted in one way or another:

This happened in a cinema in (city XY).
A few weeks ago in a movie theater a person sat on something pointy that was on one of the seats.
When she sat up again to see what it was, she found a needle stuck into the seat with a note attached: "You have just been infected by HIV." The Disease Control Center reports several similar events that have recently occurred in several other cities. All needles tested ARE HIV positive. […]

We're talking about a dynamic hoax here. Dynamic for two reasons: on the one hand, the place name of a report can be exchanged and the story can be told anew at the named place. People feel affected by the location and spread this false report. The second dynamic is adaptability. This story has shown itself to be very changeable with an identical narrative core. So it doesn't necessarily have to be cinema seats that are associated with an HIV-infected needle, but it can also be other everyday objects. Here is an example of an adaptation: HIV-infected needles in fuel nozzles!

About poisoned corona tests and poisoned wells

Here it becomes quite clear that it is one and the same story. The cinema seat simply became the fuel pump. Everything else has remained completely the same. And at the end of all of this there is the legend of the well poisoning. The idea that people come into contact with infected substances and become sick themselves.

Well poisoning in the corona pandemic

During the corona pandemic, the hidden well poisoning also always played a major role. Here the parallels to the plague become more than obvious! Once again it's about a complex health situation that is broken down into simple explanations.

We have already seen the metaphor of well poisoning with vaccinations. All sorts of stories have been told about vaccinations against the coronavirus. People are supposed to die en masse if they get vaccinated. Or they would become infected with a certain disease. Or even end up suffering from AIDS ( compare )! In some cases, reasonably concrete data was published on which vaccinated people should have died ( example: in the fall ).

All of these many false reports always played with the meaningful narrative of well poisoning. Even if the fountain here was a vaccination syringe in a figurative sense. So we see the parallels quite clearly.

And now we take a look at the accusation that has been made for a few days now that the corona tests are poisoned. We actually have a new variant of well poisoning. All components of the classic well poisoning are included in this new form of publication. We have an object that many people come into contact with in everyday life (corona test). We have an enemy image that is created here in the form of governments. And we also have a component in the story that is highly emotional, namely the mention of children!

On the one hand, it is easy to see that the corona tests, which are used thousands of times every day, have not yet caused anyone to die. But that basically doesn't matter, since the meaningful story of the well poisoning is applied on the meta level in order to be able to attack an enemy image. At the same time, it is also about the legitimacy of one's own beliefs. Ultimately, we also have a touch of conspiracy theory in the accusation, as it is supposed to be political elites who are planning genocide.

The naming of children in the story has an influence that should not be underestimated. Children are the greatest asset. Not only are they the highest good, but they also embody pure and innocent beings. On the other hand, there are the evil elites who want to do something bad to children. So if I want to dehumanize a person and make them vulnerable, I accuse that person of the worst thing they can do: abuse or even kill children or accept their killing and abuse.

At the same time, this motif creates a contrasting image within the narrative. If you are not for the children, then you are against the children. It is precisely with this mechanism that a discussion is radicalized. There is only friend or foe. And then no one supports the killing or abuse of children, locating the enemy is quite easy.

Poisoned corona tests are a catalyst

Basically, it's not about the corona tests at all - they are just a catalyst and placeholder. There are political or social beliefs in the background of these stories. The classic meaningful stories, even though they are ritual murder legends or well poisoning, are only used as a stylistic device within a thoroughly aggressive discussion. The new and contemporary guise with which this narrative is carried out is therefore unimportant and can only be seen from the situation.

These discussions are not evidence-based, but are about beliefs, anecdotal stories and your own sensitivities. But it's also about fears and worries that can be channeled using radical narratives. Therefore, it is fundamentally always important to recognize narratives, to be able to evaluate why they are told, how they work and also to identify the intentions behind them. Certain meaningful narratives simply appear regularly depending on the occasion and always contain the same mechanisms. They generally become dangerous when the stories radicalize and convey or paint images of the enemy on various levels.


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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )